Six Things to Do When You Want to Give Up 2/24/2017 9:00:00 AM by: Maresa DePuy

Perhaps it’s freeing girls from human trafficking. Maybe it’s rescuing endangered animals. Or caring for foster children, or the environment, or helping frazzled moms love their families well or writing a book to help frazzled moms love their families.

As you’ve pursued your mission, have you ever felt like quitting?

I have.

(If you haven’t, feel free to save this for a rainy day. There may come a time when you wonder if you heard God wrong or if what you’re doing is making a lick of difference.)

For the rest of us, here are six things when you're having one of those days:

1. “Just” pray. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

“Pray continually.”

Why do we say this? I’ve said it. “Is there anything else I can do besides just pray for you?” The truth is, if we all “just prayed” instead of spinning our wheels trying to do stuff, the world would be a dramatically different place. If your bent is toward “doing” rather than “being,” remember this: the next time you go to take action (send an e-mail, plant a tree, write a chapter, begin a recycling campaign, sign up for a mission trip, organize a fund raiser or whatever) take a breath. Ask God to use your efforts, edit your words, multiply your work, or stop you if it’s not the way He’d have you go.

2. Every time you say yes to the wrong thing you’re saying no to the right thing.

When you commit to something that’s not part of your highest calling, it diminishes your ability to complete your highest calling. Whenever possible, each yes should propel you toward your mission. Do you feel ineffective in what you’re doing? Pause to evaluate your yeses. Give yourself permission to say no in order to free up time to pursue your Best Yes, as Lysa Terkeurst calls it. Jesus did this. He said yes to only those things that aligned with His highest calling.

3. Spend time with those who embrace your highest calling.

Not everyone will completely get your mission. But seek out friends on social media and in your school, neighborhood, and community who do. Seek out others whose hearts beat for what you're doing to help spur you on. And most importantly, spend time with the Author of your highest calling, getting quiet with God, reading His word, and just being with Him. Psalm 63:1, “Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

4. Recruit others to pray specifically for this calling with you. Acts 12:12

“When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”

Every other Tuesday morning, I circle up with four women. These friends are on my write-the-book journey for the long haul. They were praying for my book long before I traveled to Africa or began blogging. When I tire of updating them on my progress (or lack thereof), they still pray for me. Thanks to them and others, I’ve not given up on this book.

5. Expect things will get messy and don’t give up when they do. Galatians 6:9

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.”

You will have “those days” when you hit a wall and are D-O-N-E, done! Michael Hyatt calls it the messy middle.“Everything is harder than you expect it to be. The hill is steeper. The road is longer. You are not sure you have what it takes to finish.”

Preparing for this season helps you push through instead of being devastated and giving up. Consider writing a “messy middle” letter to yourself on a day when you have a fresh vision of your mission. When you hit your wall, read it out loud and allow God to reignite your passion for His calling.

6. Remember who got you into this. Ephesians 2:10

”For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

This photo reminds me of three things:

The author of my calling is God. I didn’t think it up myself. I responded to His holy invitation.

The One who called me has unlimited power and resources. All I must do is ask.

Ultimately, my Heavenly Father is the only one I need to please.

On the dark days when you feel like you’re a crazy person for thinking you could do what you’ve set out to do, # 6 is everything. And when number 6 is even hard to do, repeat #1.

What has God called you to do? Have you experienced the messy middle? When everything screams “give up!” what has helped you stay the course?

Maresa DePuy’s love for the written word launched her career in non-profit public relations with the American Red Cross and United Cerebral Palsy Associations. Her passion for Africa landed her in Uganda serving beside people in poverty and those who’ve been lifted out of it. She shares her musings and observations about following Christ in the First and Third Worlds at http://www.maresadepuy.com, on Facebook and Twitter (@MaresaDePuy). Maresa resides just outside of Charleston, SC where she lives on mission as a wife to one and mom to two.

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Comments

Kathryne From Melbourne, FL At 2/24/2017 11:55:48 AM

Thank you Maresa (and Andy) for these words. Still evaluating all the rejections and great correction I was given at a writers conference. The urge to quit is strong but the call was not recinded. This blog is a heavenly gift.

Reply by: Florida Christian Writers

Dear Kathryne, I will pray for your encouragement and that God will take those rejections and critique and use it to make your writing stronger and better for greater impact.Your words encourage me to keep on blogging! Blessings! ~Andy